GxP Lifeline

Revolutions often take just the smallest act to become a widespread movement for change. J. Sterling Morton kicked off a worldwide forestation revolution in 1872, aka, Arbor Day. And digital transformation is currently revolutionizing the way life sciences and manufacturing companies do business. Declare “War on Paper” by joining the call to arms to go paperless.

ISO 9001:2015 is currently a key focus for transition for many life science and other regulated industry organizations. The high level structure (HLS) format within the standard has explicit requirements and when implemented with a robust quality management system (QMS), can help companies improve their document control processes and compliance levels.

Though we’re well into the 21st century, document control in the life science and health care sectors remains largely a paper-based system. Learn from a seasoned professional who worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs how going digital can significantly reduce risk while simultaneously provide you with both soft and hard ROI.

When you’re faced with a daunting task, it can be tempting to bring in a consultant to deal with it. Depending on the circumstances, this can be a great idea or a disaster. Fortunately, there are a few lessons from the world’s only consulting detective that can help you make this decision.

Because there are potential but invisible risks inherent in labeling artwork documents of life science companies that can’t be detected through manual proofreading, it’s important to be thorough and to know the tricks to detect and prevent these snags from causing unnecessary delays in the manufacturing process.

It’s 2018 and technology has pervaded every area of our lives. Yet a visit to almost any manufacturing floor reveals that paper is alive and well, even in forward-thinking companies with strong IT strategies and digital transformation initiatives in place. Why is it that the truly paperless factory floor remains so elusive?

Technology companies outside of the health care sector continue to carve out a niche in the medical device industry. This trend makes the competition more flammable. Still, in many ways, disruptive technology developers may need to call upon their incumbent counterparts for assistance with navigating the regulatory pathway to compliance. This article discusses some of the regulatory stumbling blocks that could impact non-traditional medical device developers.

Venture capitalists have pumped $2.8 billion into biotechnology startups in the first two months of this year alone. This means two things if you’re a startup. First, expect fierce competition because a huge capital pool attracts the very best in the industry. Second, this kind of investor confidence requires that you hit the ground running.

In the fierce arena of medtech startups, competition is intense and investor confidence is high. A recent Ernst & Young report shows that early-stage medtech firms captured 52 percent of seed funding last year and surpassed the total amount for later-stage companies, the first time it has happened in 10 years. If you’re a startup, is it time to sit back and relax? Hardly.

29 May, 2018
by Philippe Charbon, CEO of Apsalys, a European value-added Partner of MasterControl

The emergence of new guidelines on data integrity, and the interpretation of that data via audits and inspections, doesn't detract from pre-existing elements of regulation, particularly Annex 11 of the European Union’s (EU) good manufacturing practice (GMP) guidelines.

Experts at the FDA/Xavier PharmLink conference at Xavier University in March 2018 presented and analyzed the FDA's top 10 drug GMP inspection citations for FY2017 during a panel discussion. The first part of a two-part series.

Glean some insights from the U.K. 's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recently published final guidance on GxP Data Integrity, two years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance on data integrity and compliance with Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP).

The sophistication and value-added benefits of automated, integrated document control management tools available to manufacturers in the life sciences has come a long way since software solutions were introduced in the 1980s on 5 1/4-inch floppy disks.

Each year, there seems to be a buzzword that pervades the business community. This year, I recall hearing the word “collaboration” more than ever. For most organizations, the word is synonymous with “participate.”

In a tough economy, quality professions often find themselves having to convince management that swapping their paper-based QMS for an electronic one is worthy of the expense and will translate into bottom-line, as well as compliance, benefits. While the regulatory and legal drivers for automating your quality processes are irrefutable, the frequently overlooked operational and business opportunities enjoyed by organizations that implement an electronic QMS are equally compelling. Simply put: compliance is good for business, and the right QMS software can help you transform your compliance challenges into tangible business advantages.

I recently had the opportunity to chair a track and present a session on FDA and a Global Regulation in Practice at the MD&M West Conferen
Trouble-Free Validation with MasterControl (1:38)ce. The conference was held at the Anaheim a Convention Center from Monday, February 10th through Thursday February 13th, 2014. Below is a summary of the proceedings for Day 2: NAVIGATING THROUGH THE PMA AND 510(K) SUBMISSION PROCESSES.